Batteries

A review of trends in the electric vehicle market from the International Monetary Fund found that, in the four years ending in 2015, the pace of growth in EV sales was 120%. Using the transition in the 20th century from horse-drawn carriages to fuel-powered vehicles as a benchmark to measure progress, the report found that […]

The world’s first self-driving ship will sail next year. A Norwegian container ship, the Yara Birkeland, will be the world’s first electric, autonomous, zero-emissions ship. With a capacity of up to 150 shipping containers, the battery-powered ship is expected to mark the beginning of a transformation of the global shipping industry. The ship is small compared to modern standards […]

Britain announced it will ban all new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2040 amid fears that rising levels of nitrogen oxide pose a major risk to public health. This follows a similar recent announcement by France. The British ban will also include new hybrid vehicles with an electric motor and gasoline or diesel […]

US consulting firm AlixPartners says Chinese automakers are on track to produce 49 of the 103 new electric car models that will be launched globally by 2020. Chinese automakers account for 96% of the EVs sold in that country. Automakers sold about 330,000 electric vehicles in China in 2016 – or 1.4% of total light vehicle […]

Researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology have devised a low-cost, scalable approach to developing all-solid-state batteries, improving prospects for scaling up the technology for widespread use in electric vehicles, communications and other industrial applications. Described in a paper in the journal Chemistry of Materials, the approach involves substituting germanium in the solid electrolyte for two […]

Drivers in central London, UK will be able to charge electric and hybrid cars through lampposts as part of a unique pilot project in Westminster. (see photo above) The idea comes from ubitricity which has developed charging points to fit inside ordinary streetlights. Additional lampposts are planned for Hounslow, Richmond, Kensington, Chelsea, and Barnes. […]

The Daily Beast tells us How Nikola Tesla Sparked the Electric Age. Although many say Tesla invented the twentieth century, it is more fitting to say he invented the twenty-first century, Kenny Breuer, Professor of Engineering at Brown University says most of Tesla’s inventions became “winners” later, “so for years no one really appreciated his achievements. […]